We will focus on three types of devices: a Data Generation device, a Data Collection device; and a Data Receiving device.
Data can be collected by using a Data Collection device selected, for instance, from the following Data Generation devices: Trimble Survey Controller, Trimble Series 4000 and R/5000 receivers, Trimble 3300, Trimble 3600 (Elta, Geodimeter, TDS), Trimble 5600 (Elia, Geodimeter, TDS). Trimble Digital Fieldbook, DiNi Digital Level, Trimble Survey Pro, All Mapping and GIS Data Collection devices, Nikon total stations (serial connections), Trimble Business Center, etc. The data collected by the Data Collection device can be downloaded to a PC. The data being collected generally relates to location or position information as may pertain to objects, land formations, buildings, and the like, and may be either surveyor data or mapping and Geographic Information Systems data. But any other type of data may be collected by alternate equipment and receive the same benefit of embodiments of the invention as well.
An operator can then import the data from PC into Data Receiving devices like: Trimble Geomatics Office™; Trimble Total Control™, Terramodel®; Trimble Business Center, GNSS Pathfinder® Office software, Trimble Link™, Spectra Precision Survey Office (the Spectra Precision branded office software built from Trimble Business Center), or to the GNSS Analyst™ extension for ESRI ArcGIS Desktop software. These devices with relevant ancillary software may perform additional operations on the data, for the benefit of a subsequent user.
Setup of communication and operation parameters between a Data Collection device and a Data Generation device requires a certain level of input, each time, by the end user.
However, the currently employed process of using a Data Collection device is cumbersome and inefficient—especially if the end user owns more than one of each devices (as may occur in a surveying corporation). There may be many different kinds of actions, or functions, to take to transmit the data from the variety of Data Generation Devices to a similar variety of Data Collection Devices. The data may be formatted differently from a first Data Generation Device to a second device. Performing suitable setup steps to properly receive the data is time-consuming and prone to error.
One solution to this problem is to identify at least one Data Generation device by using an ID tag so that the Data Collection device can read the ID tag and identify all the necessary parameters for effecting proper data transmission of the data collected from a particular Data Generation device.